Live updates: Elko County newcomers, incumbents win

The Elko Daily Free Press is on the ground, providing live Election Day updates for Elko County.

Check back here as the evening progresses for updates.

ELKO — Two political newcomers were elected to their first terms in office, with two incumbents receiving second terms.

City Councilman Clair Morris and Marissa Lostra were the top two vote-getters in a three-way race for two seats on the Elko City Council, according to results posted on the Nevada Secretary of State's website late Tuesday night.

Morris received 2,556 votes, with Lostra only 20 votes behind with 2,536.

Candidate Michael Hagen had 1,358 votes.

For Elko County Commission, Republican Brian Gale defeated Clover Valley rancher and Democrat Jay Dalton, 10,810 votes to 3,353.

The wins mark the first elected offices for Lostra, a local Realtor, and Gale, a rancher from Ruby Valley.

Elko County Clerk Rebecca "Becky" Plunkett defeated Independent American Party candidate Michael Hawkins 11,953 votes to 2,022 votes, giving Plunkett her first four-year term in office.

In the Elko County School Board races, incumbents Josh Byers and Matt McCarty each defeated challengers for their seats.

Byers defeated Austin Whitney 8,344 votes to 4,085 for District 2.

For the second time, McCarty won over Carlin Vice Mayor Lincoln Litchfield, 8,906 to 3,757 votes. They ran against each other in 2022.

Some candidates ran unopposed for office, including Elko County Commissioners Jon Karr and Rex Steninger.

In the Legislature, Republican Assemblyman Bert Gurr won a second term in office for District 33, defeating Libertarian candidate Darryl Baber 11,760 votes to 1,875 votes.

Former Assemblyman John Ellison ran unopposed for State Senate District 19, filling the seat by outgoing State Sen. Pete Goicoechea, who termed out of office.

In federal and state races, Elko County supported GOP candidates.

Republican Donald Trump received 79.05% of the vote over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who received 19.05% of Elko County's vote.

Former Army Capt. Sam Brown faced off with incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen for U.S. Senator. Brown also received a heavy majority from Elko County, with 73.83% of the vote, compared with Rosen's 18.79%.

In the race for U.S. Representative in Congressional District 2, Elko County threw their support to incumbent Congressman Mark Amodei, who ran against nonpartisan candidate Greg Kidd.

In other cities throughout Elko County, Jasie Holm was elected as mayor of West Wendover. The city also elected Nicholas "Nick" Flores to the West Wendover City Council.

Kenneth J. Quirk was also reelected as Eastline Township Justice of the Peace.

Wells City Council race between Richard Peltier and Christopher L. Micheli was extremely close, with only one vote separating the candidates, with Peltier receiving 157 votes to Micheli's 156 votes.

Cameron Kinney was elected to the Carlin City Council.

The Nevada Secretary of State's Office reported turnout for early voting and mail ballots but did not have election day turnout results by 11 p.m.

Statewide results

The Nevada Secretary of State's office showed Donald Trump taking Nevada's electoral votes with 51.09% to Vice President Kamala Harris' 47.34%.

Reports said the race between Brown and Rosen for U.S. Senate was too close to call, with Rosen holding a slight edge of 47.83% over Brown's 47.71%.

Amodei was also shown to be the winner with a wide majority of 56.58% over Kidd's 36.44%.

Statewide results showed Questions 1 and 3 being defeated. Question 1 asked for the Nevada Constitution to be amended to have the Legislature having oversight of the Board of Regents, while Question 3 sought an amendment change for voters regardless of political party to participate in the primary election.

Question 7 requiring voter identification won 72.06% of the vote over 27.94%.

Question 6, which asked for an amendment change to support abortion was voted in 62.73% to 37.23%.

Nevada voters also supported an amendment for the Sales and Use Tax Act of 1955 to allow an exemption from taxes imposed by the Act on gross receipts, sale, storage or use of diapers.

Question 4 also passed, requiring the removal of language authorizing slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment.

ELKO — Elko County voters turned out to vote in high numbers on Tuesday, keeping some election workers past the 7 p.m. deadline. Voters in line to vote prior to 7 p.m. were allowed to wait and cast ballots.

The lobby of the Elko Convention Center was filled with people waiting to vote 12 minutes after polls closed. A half-hour earlier, the line of voters still snaked outside the center in 30-degree temperatures.

Likewise, the line was outside the door for much of the day.

Election workers earlier estimated the line as a two-hour wait. County Clerk Rebecca "Becky" Plunkett said Tuesday lines were long earlier in the day in West Wendover and Spring Creek, as well.

ELKO — The public was allowed to watch ballot tabulation at the Elko County Clerk's Office on Election Day in person and online.

Observers sat in the lobby watching a TV monitor that showed a live view of the tabulation room. Among them was Elko County Commissioner District 1 candidate Brian Gale.

He and a man who asked to remain unidentified viewed the process, which was explained to them by Elko County Clerk Rebecca "Becky" Plunkett.

"Becky gave us a walk-through and explained everything, which was awfully nice, so we understand what we're seeing," Gale said.

Gale explained he arrived before noon on Tuesday to spend a few hours observing the tabulation, which was a first for him.

"I know there are going to be lots of people with questions about whatever aspect of the election, and I want to be able to seriously answer that I have looked into it thoroughly," he said. "It all seems quite kosher to me."

He said the process was "quite boring" to watch and only learned that the clerk's office allowed viewing from a Zoom link when he arrived.

Gale, a Republican, is running against Democratic challenger Jay Dalton for the Elko County Commission seat now held by Commissioner Wilde Brough, who declined to run for a second term in office.

The public can view the voter tabulation room on Zoom. The link is on the Elko County Clerk's Elections webpage .

ELKO — A two-hour-long line snaked through the Elko Convention Center, leading to a long table where several election workers checked in voters.

The election workers walked back through the line and encouraged voters to save time by filling out and dropping off mail ballots.

Voter Tom Hawkins said the process was "smooth."

"No problems, it was a good day," he said.

Hawkins said he thinks Elko's voting system is "100% in shape. I don't see any problems with it."

Gwen Wuesthof also said the voting process was smooth. "It's really nice to see the huge turnout."

"I have full confidence that we have a great system full of integrity," she said.

Marcos Diaz said the experience was "not too bad, just kind of a little bit of a long wait."

"It's been very busy," election worker Annette Robinson said. "But it's been steady, so we've been pushing everybody as fast as we can go."

"I think it could have been a better process," voter Titan Kennedy said. "They could have more people verifying information for everybody."

"Other than the line, it was pretty good," a young voter who declined to share his name said.

"It was my first time voting," he said. "I think everybody should."

ELKO — Lines at the Elko Convention Center this afternoon were outside the door, even longer than the serpentine queue inside the building Tuesday morning.

Good news is Elko County Clerk Rebecca Plunkett said on Tuesday morning the polling places would remain open until the last person on line by 7 p.m. casts their ballots. Plunkett said she was expecting a late night, as a result.

SPRING CREEK — The longest wait voters had on Tuesday at the Spring Creek Wrestling Room gym was 18 minutes, one election worker said, adding that wait was "with the line out the door near the parked cars."

In other words, smooth sailing by voters and poll workers.

In the early afternoon, the line was far shorter, about five people deep and just minutes to wait.

There had been no issues at the polling place and folks were smiling as they took their ballots to the voting booths.

CARLIN — Voters lined up on Tuesday at the Carlin Police Station, where election workers Michael Neptune, Lorrie Haub and Tina Loveridge greeted them, handling check-ins and driver's licenses.

Voter Jennifer Allen said she found the voting process "very easy." Kyle Loiver called it "quick."

"I don't like the mail-in ballot," Allen said. "I don't think every household should be receiving one of those."

Voter Larry Bradshaw said voting is "one thing you should do."

Chad Baum said he thinks voting is "very important" as a civic duty. He said voting in Carlin was "pretty painless."

Haub explained how the check-in process works: driver's licenses are not required but "if they present them, we use them because they're easier to get their name and just scan them into the system."

"If not, we can manually search for their name and find them," Haub noted.

Haub said to prep the polling place in Carlin, they "get all the arrangements and set up the machine."

"Then, we have the city clerk who's kind enough to bring us food," she said. "We arrange our furniture how we like."

ELKO — There's about a two-hour wait to vote at the Elko Convention Center, with about 200 people snaking through the convention center's lobby.

Betty Magney, an election observer for the Elko County Democratic Central Committee, the only observer at the polls about 9 a.m., said things had been moving along smoothly with no issues for her to challenge.

She said the long line is over an hour's wait, best she could tell, "probably a two-hour line."

Convention center staff warned the long, Disney-like queue that snakes from the entry, into the building and then back around, could be a "fire hazard" and the line had to be adjusted.

"It's going to be a long day," Magney said.

ELKO — County Clerk Rebecca Plunkett, who is on the ballot hoping to keep her office, said there were lines at the convention center and in Spring Creek and West Wendover.

In her office, which is open for anyone to observe the counting committee open mailed-in ballots, one man sat in front of the screen showing the "action." He declined to be identified, but gave the contact information for a representative with 2024Victory.com .

He did say he's hoping the job is as uneventful as he expects.

Nevada Day's holiday brought high turnout during early voting.

Keith Kohn is editor of the Elko Daily Free Press. Reach him at .

Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Toni Milano Courts, K-12 schools, business & Spring Creek reporter

Keith Kohn Managing Editor